What a year … But let us talk about the positive developments and the beautiful moments. At the end of the year, we would like to take the opportunity to thank our customers, partners and employees for the year. For this reason, we have put together a small review of the year with our highlights.
Summer party, Hackathon(s) and a wonderful company outing
After several attempts and some cancellations of company parties (reasonably) we finally let it rip again (#RevengeCompanyParty). This time in a location straight out of a fairytale on the Theurerhof on the outskirts of Calw-Speßhardt. With good vibes, great weather, delicious food and a great band we celebrated the warm July evening together.
Internally, we held a hackathon to bring ideas and a breath of fresh air to our proprietary tools. The event was very well received and helpful prototypes were created – a continuation of the format will follow!
Externally, we were invited by our partner and customer Kiwigrid to Dresden in October. For this we organized a small team consisting of developers, designers and project management. For three days we brainstormed, hacked and pitched together with other teams to convince the jury of the respective application concept. We took home a lasting impression of the open and innovative mindset of our customers and of the golden autumn in Dresden.
At the end of October, we went to Lake Constance for a two-day company outing. Once there, we visited a craft beer tasting together (cheers!), completed a geo caching team game through Constance, and delved into the history of airships at the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen . Well fed and tired from the packed program (some surely also from the long night into Sunday 🚀…) we headed back to Ostelsheim.
New employees and office refresh
We have hired a total of 9 employees, 4 permanent and 5 interns, further strengthening our development and administration teams. Our team is growing at a healthy pace and we are very happy about that! One of our large offices received an update to provide more ergonomics at the workplace (standing tables, Yeah!) and to improve the room acoustics.
Connect with us in Real Life – SOTEC at trade fairs
We were at the Hannover Messe together with Google, with our joint booth we were finally able to greet old and new acquaintances in person again. Here we could successfully present our Visual Inspection AI Use Case to the interested visitors. In addition, our recruiter Sarah was present at 3 student contact fairs to engage with potential new employees and thrive interest in our topics and to bring new personalities and ideas into the company.
This year we were again at the McDonald’s World Wide Convention in Florida with a small booth and presented our software and hardware products and their new features. Good conversations, an impressive show and a little trip to Universal Studios included.
Climate protection targets, awards and social commitment
We were awarded the title “Employer of the Future” by DIND, for which we would like to express our sincere thanks.
Engineering for sustainable digitalization. As a company, we have set ourselves a clear climate protection target and will implement this over the coming years. Topics such as the electrification of company vehicles, a PV system, the optimization of our heating, railcards for our employees, less and more sustainable advertising materials, home office and office equipment (high quality and durable) are currently being implemented with great commitment.
In the social area, we were able to raise a donation of €10,000 for the Tabler Foundation in April through an internal collection campaign using employee donations and a bonus from the company. Same procedure as every year – this year we will again forego employee gifts at Christmas and instead donate money to social projects, this time € 5,000 each to the following donation recipients:
| DKMS | Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald | Dorfgemeinschaft Tennental | Ronald McDonald Haus Tübingen |
|---|---|---|---|
| To give as many blood cancer patients around the world as possible a second chance at life. | Climate protection is and remains an important issue and starts right on our doorstep: for reforestation and expansion of forest areas in Baden-Württemberg. | The inclusion village offers meaningful work with care for people in need of assistance with workshops, gardens and residential units. | Extension of our partnership for a family apartment – Financed accommodation for parents and families whose child has to be cared for in the hospital in Tübingen for an extended period of time. |
With all this and more in mind, we would like to thank everyone for the year and wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2023,
Your SOTEC Team